


The Things Left Unseen

by Blackcat0989



Series: The Things Left Unseen [1]
Category: Now You See Me (2013)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Creature!Horsemen, F/M, M/M, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Slutty!Daniel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-18
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2017-12-29 18:22:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1008566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackcat0989/pseuds/Blackcat0989
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Four Horsemen were all picked for a reason, for each of their specific 'magical' talents. But what if these talents weren't the only ones that they had? What if they had some special abilities hidden up their sleeves? This is the story of the horsemen if they had and used these abilities. Creature!Horsemen. Warnings inside.</p><p>NOTE: This story has NOT been abandoned. It's on hiatus until I can get my life back together again. I am so sorry for the wait, but I hope you'll all hang around until I can continue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Lover

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I recently saw NYSM and just HAD to write for it. This will be a multi-chapter fic mainly starring the Four Horsemen, but with a bit of a twist. This sort of came into being when I was thinking about why Daniel was given the Lovers tarot card, and why Jack go the Death card, and the plot bunnies sort of accosted me and ran with the idea. So yeah, this was born.
> 
> Each of the Horsemen get their own prologue, so don't expect the main story to start until after they're finished. Also, this will be following the movie, since it's set during the time period where they had their instructions from the Eye/Dylan. It will deviate, things will be done differently and things that I don't really understand the basis of will be changed.
> 
> Anyway, warnings; this fic contains frequent references to sexual interactions and innuendoes (both homosexual and heterosexual), swearing, magical/mythical creatures, altered original plot/storyline, AU, OOCness and also quite a lot of flirting.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Now You See Me or any of the characters.

**Prologue: The Lover**

It was very late in Chicago, the streets packed with the night crowd and the clubs filled to bursting with partygoers. A crowd huddled in the middle of a bustling courtyard at the foot of one of the massive skyscrapers, peering over each other's shoulders as they tried to get a glimpse of the marvel in their midst. In the centre of a circle of clear space stood a man, a wide smile curling the corners of red lips as he played for the crowd. He was of just above average height, dressed smartly in a black shirt and slacks under a black coat with his hair stylishly ruffled almost to the point of just-out-of-bed or post-sex and his eyes glowing a deep royal blue. He held a deck of cards in his hands, flipping and shuffling in complicated patterns as he explained his next trick to his entranced crowd.

"So, I'm going to flip through the deck, and you have to try to see one card." He instructed the helper he'd picked from the audience. He held up the deck, showing her the card on the bottom of the pile. "Not this one, that's too obvious." He lowered the cards again, smiling charmingly at her. "You ready?" She nodded, smiling a sultry smile. He ran his thumb up the side of the cards, lifting each for barely a quarter of a second before allowing it to fall. He repeated the action a second time before asking if she had seen one.

"Yes." It was almost a hiss, her voice low and breathy as she stared at him. He fanned the cards showing her the deck and asking if she could see it. She gave a negative answer.

"But that's because you're looking too closely. Now, what have I been telling you all night?" His voice was playfully chiding. "The closer you look..."

"...The less you see!" The crowd cheered as he threw the deck into the air, turning to look intently at the building towering above their heads as all the lights in it went dark. The crowd cheered and clapped as the visage of a playing card lit up the side of the building, the seven of diamonds forming in the lights.

The man just smirked, his whole body exuding confidence and satisfaction. "I hope you all enjoyed the show tonight!" He called to his audience. "I am Daniel Atlas, and good night!" He bowed low, accepting the cheers with a smirk and a wink, not even noticing the hooded man watching him in the crowd with a knowing smile on his face.

.

XXXXX

.

Daniel and the girl from the show burst through the door of his apartment, kissing frantically and tugging at each other's clothes. Daniel broke away and shit the door, turning back to see the girl ripping off her tight little dress and pouncing on him like some kind of cat, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she settled on his lap. He ran a hand up her arm, chewing on the juncture of her neck and shoulder as she ran a hand through his thick hair.

"How did you do that?" She asked, pulling him from her neck to look in his eyes, noticing that they had changed from a pretty blue to a strange shade of purple.

"The seven of diamonds on the side of the tower? Trade secret." He smirked, dragging a finger down the centre of her chest, stopping just between her breasts when she grabbed his wrist and fixed him with a demanding look. He sighed and rolled his eyes, settling back on his elbows. "It may or may not have had something to do with the building's electrician and a certain sum of money."

"How much?"

"Uh... Fifty bucks?"

She giggled and pulled his sweater over his head. "Is it always a seven?"

"I can do that trick fifty-two different ways."

"Can you do fifty-two different tricks on me?" Daniel gave her an appraising look, red-violet eyes sweeping up and down her body.

"I'll see what I can do."

She grinned and went for his neck, moaning sluttily in his ear as she rocked on his lap. His eyes moved away from her momentarily, drawn by a strange flash of colour peeking out of his bag. He pressed a hand to her shoulder to stop her, sitting upright and accidentally toppling her onto the floor. He glanced and her to check that she was alright before going for the card lying on the table.

"You need to leave." His voice was dead serious, the lusty undertone gone as he stared at the tarot card. The girl ranted and shrieked at him, rushing half-dressed out of the apartment with a final insult thrown over her shoulder just before the door slammed behind her.

Number VI; The Lovers. A snake wrapped around a heart. It suited him, more than anyone who didn't know him could really understand. Sure, he was something of a playboy - and a successful one at that - but there was more to the escapades of Daniel Atlas than just flings of meaningless sex for pleasure. It was more than that, it was a way of life, a means of life, a _necessity_ of life - to Daniel it was, literally, what kept him sane and healthy, glowing with life and youth, as it did to every individual of his race; to an incubus, sex was a source of energy, like food to humans or sunlight and fertiliser to plants.

He literally embodied the meaning of the tarot card - desire, passion, physical attraction, temptation, pleasure, sexuality. But for a stranger to know such a fact, for a person who had never seen his true form to know the reality of the incubi was not only disturbing but also dangerous, and it was enough to make Daniel uneasy.

But at the same time, why leave a tarot card rather than call the police or the government if someone knew what he was? Why give an address and a time and place to meet? Why leave no threats or strings attached? It piqued his curiosity, interested him in a way that nothing had for many, many years.

"45 East Evan Street, New York, on March 29th." Daniel's eyes lifted and flicked lazily to the mirror, meeting the bloody red irises of the smirking creature reflected in the glass, his tail flicking around his feet and bat-like wings shifting the tiniest amount as he tilted his head, horns curling majestically forward from the sides of his feathery hair. "I'll be there, stranger."

.

XXXXX

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know, an incubus is a male demon that, in religion and mythology, sleeps with a woman while asleep, sometimes order to father children (as in the legend of Merlin). There are also some resources that state that they feed of the energy expended during sex, and I've decided to go with this idea rather than the procreation theory, since its the most fitting explanation I can find. Incubi are recorded as being either heterosexual or bisexual depending on the text, but let's just say that Daniel is one of the bisexual incubi, okay? Makes things easier in the long run of this fic. The female counterpart of the incubus is a succubus.
> 
> Since there is so much variation in the information regarding the incubi, I'll be employing some artistic license when writing about the demons. So if you happen to have a differing opinion, feel free to tell me what you know about them, but do not criticise me for my interpretation.


	2. Prologue: Death

**Prologue: Death**

When a person looked at Jack Wilder, the most common reactions upon seeing him were either a smile and a compliment on his appearance, or a scowl and a scream of thief. He was long used to it - the screaming, the running, the anger, the hatred, the desire to hurt. He'd been on the receiving end of such feelings enough times that he'd learnt how to escape quickly and painlessly, though not without losses on the side of the accuser.

Jack glanced behind him as he raced through the streets, nimbly dodging around an oncoming pedestrian as he checked on his pursuer. The man was screaming and pointing at his retreating back, shrieking for him to stop running. Jack just laughed and dashed on, skidding around a corner and into an alleyway. He hopped onto the closed lid of a dumpster, and from there up onto a fire escape. He looked down, watching as his victim entered the alley and looked around, his angry expression changing into one of confusion. Jack smirked and turned, climbing up the metal stairs and onto the roof to wait.

He took out the stolen wallet, pulling out all the cash - a little over seventy dollars - and throwing away the leather over the side of the building. He sighed and lay on his back near the edge of the rooftop, watching the clouds float peacefully above. Jack loved cloud-watching, it was a past time he'd picked up years earlier, just after he'd ended up on the streets, after the death of his mother...

 _No, after I_ _ **killed**_ _my mother._ He thought bitterly, his peaceful expression becoming dark and angry as he bared sharp canine teeth and for a short second, two fluffy, white-tipped black tails swished beside his legs before they disappeared. _After I gave into my Nogitsune side for the first time since Father's death beneath Mother's claws._

Jack snarled and rolled over, balancing on his palms and the balls of his feet until he stood upright, straightening his leather jacket and moving towards the fire escape. It was time to find the next victim.

.

XXXXX

.

Jack slipped quietly onto the yellow passenger boat, nodding politely to the woman standing by the door acting as usher before scoping the little vessel out. The deck above was filled with people, all sitting in plastic fold-out chairs and staring blankly out at the water or chatting quietly amongst themselves. Jack smiled, sliding his hand into the pocket of an unsuspecting passenger and taking his wallet with a little sleight of hand. He waited for a few minutes more - until the man lifted his arms in a stretch - to slide the polished silver watch off his wrist.

Jack pocketed his prizes, smiling a foxy smile as he walked to the front of the deck. He pulled a spoon out of his pocket, patting himself down to make sure his decoy spoon was there before tapping the real one lightly against the metal railings to get his impromptu audience's attention.

"Good morning everyone! I am the next great magician and I'll give one hundred dollars to anyone who can tell me how this trick is done!" He held up the spoon, wiggling the silver cutlery to draw attention to it. "I have an ordinary spoon from Mel's Deli right here in Brooklyn, see?" He tapped the spoon against the railings again, proving that it was in fact completely solid. "Now watch very, _very_ closely, because I'm about to bend this spoon with my mind." He pinched the handle of the spoon between his thumb and forefinger, holding it so that he could bend the spoon if he just applied the right amount of pressure. He held his free hand over the spoon, tensing his muscles and frowning deeply to imitate intense concentration. He began applying pressure to the spoon, causing it to bend as he moved his other hand slowly down, making it appear as if the movement of his hand caused the spoon to warp.

He grinned and held up the bent spoon, giving it to the nearest member of the delighted audience to pass around. Someone pushed forward to grab for Jack's arm and Jack reacted smoothly, grabbing the man's wrist and deftly sliding off his watch as his other hand nicked his wallet; both disappeared into the hidden pockets of his leather jacket.

The man held up the decoy spoon, his face smug as he showed off 'how the trick was done'. The crowed jeered and laughed, amused with the spectacle of a magician being thwarted. Jack just hid his smile, he'd gotten what he wanted and didn't care in the slightest if his trick was 'revealed'. He feigned desperation, offering more tricks in an attempt to stall but eventually gave in to the demand for the promised money, paying the man with money from his own wallet. Jack could barely hold in his laugher at the delicious irony. He climbed down from the deck in a fake huff, exuding an air of irritation and didn't even react when he bumped into a man in a navy blue hoodie.

It took the robbed man a further three minutes to realise that his things had been stolen, and by then the pickpocket had already disembarked, fading into the crowd as easily as a fox into the underbrush.

Jack made his way down to the water, standing on the pebbled shore with the waves lapping at the toes of his boots, watching the sun reflect off the water in beautiful yellow-white patterns. He pulled out the wallet, emptying the monetary contents and dropping everything else into the waves. He reached back, sliding the notes into his back pocket and pausing as he felt something brush against his fingers. He gripped the strange object and pulled it out, blinking in confusion down at the tarot card in his hand.

Death. A grinning skull floating above a pile of dismembered bodies. He flipped it over and read the address printed on the back before turning it over again. He didn't know anything about tarot readings - the cards made no more sense to him than colour to a blind person - but he couldn't help but think; was it a message? Did the person who gave him the card know about how he killed his mother? Was it a warning? But how could they? He wasn't even in human form when he killed her... So did that mean that they knew what he was? But that didn't make sense either. The Japanese Nogitsune weren't very well known in America, hardly any of the Japanese yokai were, sans the tanuki and the kitsune who played major roles in many well known animated tv shows.

Jack shook his head and slid the card into his pocket, turning back towards the city. He had a building to find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know, a Nogitsune (also known as a Yako) is a close relative (essentially a twin) of the Japanese Kitsune. The Nogitsune are the field foxes, the fox spirits known for mischief and causing trouble while the kitsune are more benevolent, often seen as messengers and servants of the Japanese deity 'Inari', who is often pictured as a fox as well. Nogitsune can grow up to ten tails (one every 50 years) and are more muted in colour compared to the brightly coloured kitsune, the nogitsune mostly having a coat in shades of brown, cream and grey. The nogitsune can transform into human form via the use of a piece of silver or gold jewelery, most commonly a necklace, rather than the leaf or skull that the kitsune use. Nogitsune like to collect jewels and shiny coins, and as such like to swindle people of their belongings.
> 
> If anyone knows any additional information on the Yako, please feel free to leave a comment. I'd be happy to know any information you have to give, though also note that not all of it will be incorporated into the story.
> 
> Because I'm probably not going to explain this in any great detail in the story itself, here is a back story and some information on Jack. Jack is a black Nogitsune with two tails. Because of his human father and the fact that his mother was in human form during his birth, he was born in human form (unlike most fox spirits which are born in fox form) and lived as a human for most of this time. In the beginning, he needed his transformation necklace to transform into his fox form instead of the opposite, but after his second tail grew it was flipped and his primary form became the fox and the necklace was needed to stay in human form. Because of his half-breed (hanyou) status, Jack can enter any stage of the transformation, stopping anywhere between full human and full fox (which is both something I made up and something that I'm making unique to hanyou). All other important details will be explained in the chapters, and if they aren't, feel free to ask and I'll definately answer.


	3. Prologue: The High Priestess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My exams are completed, my high school life is over, and as promised, here's the third prologue of The Things Left Unseen! Thanks to all who have left comments and/or kudos on the story thus far, and i hope you all enjoy the rest of the ride!
> 
> Disclaimer and Warnings are all in the first prologue. If you need to see them, look there.

**Prologue: The High Priestess**

In the Otherworld, everything is pure and green and bright, nature flourishes and one can literally smell the life in the air. There are no skyscrapers, no paved paths, no cars or vehicles of any variety, no chemicals polluting the air and water. So for Henley, passing through the mounds into the outskirts of what she would later discover to be Chicago was a strange and borderline traumatising experience. For many minutes she just sat on the ground, gasping for air as she was bombarded by scents and sounds that never occurred in the Otherworld. She jumped at the sound of car horns and almost gagged at the taste of foul, polluted air and every time she tried to get her bearings something new bombarded her and she was left floundering again.

Her saving grace, ironically, came in the form of a creature classified as a demon by the humans. He was casually walking past where she sat slumped on the ground trying to fight down another panic attack. His eyes glazed over with his own thoughts, so she caught him completely unawares when she lunged for him. Henley felt him jump as she grabbed his arm, almost sobbing in relief as she finally found something she recognised, even if it was a demon.

"Help me, please." She gasped into his arm. "I know what you are, so please, help me get used to this place."

He didn't react for several seconds, frozen in shock by her sudden declaration. When he did react, it was swiftly and smoothly enough that she didn't even feel the movement. One second she was leaning against him, breathing in the familiar sweet scent of another Creature, and the next she was sitting back on a nearby bench, the stranger bending over her with a concerned look on his face, his warm hands cupping her face.

"How do you know what I am?" He asked, his voice soft enough that no one passing could hear his words. "And where did you come from?"

"I could smell it on you." She said just as softly. "Just as I can smell that you've been here for a very long time. You're used to this place, seen it develop and change, can you teach me?"

He sighed, closing his pretty blue eyes. "We need to get you somewhere quiet. Can you walk?" He stood again, letting her go and stepping back to give her space. Henley nodded and got to her feet, gripping the sleeve of his coat much like a child would to their parent. He smiled and transferred her hand from his sleeve to his wrist, allowing her to cling to him as he lead her away. They walked for some time, following the streets towards the centre of the city until they stopped outside a tall building.

"This is where I live." The demon said. "We'll be in a quiet place soon, so just bare with it for a little while longer, okay?"

Henley nodded, following obediently as he walked into the building. They soon reached his dwelling, a door in a long corridor with the number 2C nailed to it. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door, letting her in first before entering and closing the door.

The silence was blissful and Henley all but collapsed on the floor, revelling in the quiet. The stranger took hold of her arms and gently guided her back to her feet, leading her to a long cushioned chair - which she would later learn was called a sofa - and sitting her down.

"Now, what's your name?" He asked gently. "And where did you come from?"

"I'm Henley Reeves. I'm from the Otherworld."

She watched as his eyebrows rose incredulously, almost becoming lost in his messy brown hair. "The Otherworld? No one's come from the Otherworld in almost 3000 years..."

"I wanted to come. I loved this world while we lived in it, and I didn't want to leave, but all of us were forced to go by the elders when the mortals became too dangerous. But then they decided to unlock the mounds recently, now anyone could come if they wanted to. Though I don't think the elders realised the extent of how much has changed. I only just got the courage to come through myself."

"What are you?" He asked, sitting beside her with an intrigued look. "How much has changed in the Otherworld?"

"Nothing's changed, they're all still exactly the same as when they went into hiding. Also, I'm a púca. Now, it's only polite to tell me your name, since I've already told you mine."

"I've had many names in my life, so many that I don't even remember them all, nor do I care to count them. My current name is Daniel Atlas. It's nice to meet a púca, I haven't spoken to another non-human in a long time."

"So, Daniel, can you teach me about the world? It's so different to what it used to be..."

He sighed and leaned back, tilting his head a little as he thought. "I suppose. It's more a matter of getting used to it than anything. You can stay here for the time being, spend some time getting accustomed to the world and I'll sort out your identity. And don't worry, I won't touch you in any way you don't want to be touched." The last part was said with a lewd smirk, for which Henley punched him hard in the arm.

"You are not using me like that, Atlas." She said, flipping her hair over her shoulder with an air of false arrogance. "So don't even try."

"... Ow..."

.

XXXXX

.

The time flew by so fast that Henley barely even noticed it. One day she was begging Daniel for help, playing as his assistant in his night time illusionary acts, and then suddenly it's 2012 and she'd been acting on her own for almost five years, living by herself in an apartment on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Her escape tricks had gotten more and more dangerous as she gained experience, starting with just a simple handcuff escape which eventually progressed into her current act - a full manacle set, underwater, under a tank full piranhas set to open one minute after the act started.

It was stupid, dangerous, Daniel would have shrieked at her for _hours_ just for thinking of it. And it would have meant her certain death, that is, if she hadn't used her púca abilities to convince the piranhas not to eat her beforehand. The fish were instructed to pretend to eat her, but to remember that she was a fey and if she was eaten then the entire piranha species would fall under the wrath of the high court of elders of the Otherworld. Not something any creature with even a hint of self-preservation wanted to undergo.

The act went off without a hitch, though she underestimated the force of almost a tonne of water and fish falling on her head and ended up at the bottom of the tank, momentarily stunned, but that just gave the fish time to get into place and start their 'feeding frenzy'. When the bubbles made the water murky, Henley made her move and transformed into a piranha, swimming to the top of the water before surfacing and transforming again, this time into a fly, and escaping the tank. The water turned red - stained with blood from the hunk of raw meat they was introduced to the tank via the grate at the bottom - and the audience screamed, horrified by the 'accident'.

There was a rush of movement as people watched the bloodstained water fall from the tank, movement that stilled as soon as Henley yelled out, appearing from nowhere in the centre of the crowd.

"Come on! This is bullshit! Whoever thought of this was a sick sadist!" She smirked, an expression developed from years of watching the infamous Atlas smirk. Everyone in the room started cheering, those closest high fiveing the drenched girl.

After changing and drying off, Henley went back to the piranha tank, climbing to the top and thank them for their help. They were only too happy to help, satisfied with the meaty offering given to them in exchange, they even brought up the Tarot card that had been dropped into their tank by a strange man in a hooded sweatshirt.

The High Priestess. The head and torso of a blindfolded woman with a church headdress perched in her hair. The card symbolising knowingness, wisdom, serenity, common sense, intuition, introspection, otherworldliness. It could also be interpreted as a secret that is kept or revealed, when one is holding on to the truth or revealing it. It is the card associated with mystery, feminine power and can also represent the perfect woman in a man's life or, to a woman, it can represent being independently solo, as she is without a man.

Henley stared at it uneasily. Did someone - other than Daniel - know her secret? Is that what the card was meant to reveal? She flipped it over, reading the address before swapping back to the picture.

"Looks like I have to go to New York."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know, the Puca is a legendary creature of Celtic folklore, most notably in Ireland, the West of Scotland and Wales. the pusa is a mythological fairy (fae) and ultimately a shapeshifter. They can take on the form of a variety of creatures, including a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin and dog, though i've taken this a bit further and will allow them to transform into any creature. No matter what shape the puca takes, its fur is always dark. They're most commonly seen as a black horse with a flowing mane and orange eyes. Pucas are known for giving good advice, but they also enjoy confuing and terrifying humans, having a profound fondness for riddles, and will often help humans if treated well. They are sociable creatures that, in some myths, claim the unharvested wheat and overripe blackberries in the autumn/fall. They love to gather and play pranks on unsuspecting humans. They are seen as creatures of the mountains and hills in many regions of the world, and are increadably respected.
> 
> To explain my 'Otherworld' comments, in one of the myths i found it stated that the Fae live in this place called the Otherworld that exists in an alternate dimention of sorts which are only accessible through the 'mounds', which i'm assuming are hills of some variety. They are said to have escaped back into the Otherworld around the time that humans began using metal (iron) weapons, which was approximately 3000 years ago, give or take a century, and sealed the mounds to prevent the humans from following. I don't know all the details of this, so I made some bits up, such as the elders and the unlocking of the mounds. 
> 
> If anyone has any other info, feel free to tell me. I may not use it but hey, it's better to be well informed, no?
> 
> And now there's only one more prologue to go before the story starts! Feel free to leave a comment and hope to see you next chapter!


	4. Prologue: The Hermit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I haven't actually got the next chapter completely finished (actually having a bit of trouble with it... hehehe) but I was starting to feel bad for taking so long and so, here's the final prologue. Info at the end of the chapter, as usual, and thanks to everyone who left kudos and/or comments, I love seeing every one of them :D
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Now You See Me, but I do own the OCs that turn up every now and again.

**Prologue: The Hermit**

The night that changed his life was just like any other, or it would have been had /it/ not been skulking around the streets since just after nightfall. At first, Merritt hadn't even realised that he was being stalked on his way home, so tired after the long, depressing day that he was barely aware of where he was going, let alone who was around him or if someone was following him.

He was barely even a street away from his apartment block when he was attacked, tugged roughly into an alleyway and pinned against a wall with cold hands holding his wrists in a vice-like grip. He yelled and struggled, kicking at the attacker's knees and throwing his head back in an attempt to hit their face. His assailant didn't budge, hands wrapping around his arms with inhuman strength and claw-like nails digging into his skin. He struggled frantically as he was roughly spun around, his eyes locking with a pair of glowing gold.

"Relax and stay quiet." He tried not to, really tried to struggle and kick and call for help, but his body relaxed against his will, falling still and silent. He screamed inside his mind, shaking and trying to force himself to move, but all attempts were unsuccessful. His attacker smiled, baring white teeth and elongated fangs. His eyes widened, mind going blank in shock.

A... Vampire?

"Don't fight." The hypnotic voice whispered again. "Give in, let me feed."

Merritt felt his mind become fuzzy, his body completely lax and only staying upright thanks to the creature holding him up. There was a sharp, needle-like piercing in his neck, the pain so muted that all that he could feel was the sensation rather than the results. For a while, they just stood there; one with his back to the wall and a steadily increasing dizziness, and the other with their fangs buried in their victim's neck, suckling at the seeping blood like a newborn at a bottle. Merritt didn't know how long they waited like that before they were interrupted, the vampire suddenly jerking away and almost ripping his neck open in the process. It hissed and dropped him to the floor, disappearing as quickly and quietly as it had appeared.

He watched it go with hazy eyes, lying in a heap on the ground with a burning pain in his neck that was quickly spreading to the rest of his body. He was faintly aware of someone approaching him, catching a whisper of his name and a glimpse of a figure in a black cloak kneeling beside his prone form before he fell unconscious.

.

XXXXX

.

Waking up was a painful experience, the soothing darkness of sleep having filtered out most of the pain still coursing through his body. Merritt fought his way back from the brink of unconsciousness, suffering through the waves of burning agony as they ebbed and flowed through his veins. He groaned and opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as light assaulted his retinas and tried to look around.

The room around him was bare, made entirely out if wood with a set of shuttered windows off to one side with a door opposite. He was lying on a soft bed tucked up against the joining of two walls, stripped to his boxers and covered by a warm blanket. There were bandages wrapped neatly around his neck and chest, the white gauze itching against his clammy skin.

Merritt jumped when the door opened, permitting entrance to a strange, vaguely familiar man. He was tall, lanky, almost androgynous in appearance with black, fly-away hair and ocean blue eyes. He wore all black; a form fitting shirt and pants under knee high boots and a velvet cloak, the collar high against his neck and red lining stark against the midnight material framing his figure as it trailed to the floor. He walked forward, gently shutting the door behind him and settling on the bed by Merritt's feet.

"How are you feeling?" His voice was a soft tenor, warm and lilting despite his cold appearance. "You lost a lot of blood and were asleep for almost five days, are you feeling any adverse effects?"

Merritt opened his mouth to answer, shutting it again when the a painful croak ripped from his bone dry throat. The stranger smiled and reached to the small end table beside the bed, pouring water from a silver pitcher into the ready glass. He held the glass to Merritt's lips, letting him drink slowly, sip by sip, until the cup was empty.

"Thanks." Merritt said, softly so as to not hurt his still-sore throat.

"No need for thanks." The man said, setting the glass down again. "Now, how do you feel?"

"My body still hurts, but it's becoming somewhat bearable." Merritt said warily. "Who are you? And where am I?"

"My name is Kaleb Karis." He said. "This is my house. We're a few miles out of New Orleans."

"So... What happened to me?" It was the main question on his mind, and was one that definitely needed an answer, and soon. "I remember being grabbed, gold eyes and a burning pain in my body. Was I attacked?"

"You could say that." Kaleb said darkly. "What I'm going to tell you is a secret that you mustn't tell anyone. After this, your view on the world will change, and you will never be able to go back. Unfortunately, thanks to your assailant, I don't have the luxury of offering you a choice. In order to keep you and us safe, you must be told."

"Told what? And who is 'us'?"

"Others like you, and myself."

"And what are you? And me, apparently?"

"Vampires."

That made Merritt freeze, flashes of sharp fangs and a hypnotising voice rushing through his mind. "Then... That person who attacked me..."

"Was a rogue." Kaleb explained. "A turned vampire who became an outlaw. He attacks and kills humans for sport, seemingly in a warped sense of revenge. His name is Christopher Bradley."

"So... When he bit me..."

"He was feeding from you. Draining you of your blood and injecting you with venom. Usually, the victim is killed when the vampire drains him or her, most often dying from blood loss. But when the victim doesn't die, for whatever reason, and enough venom is injected, it begins to change their genetic structure, turning the unfortunate into one of us. Because Bradley's feed was interrupted partway you didn't die, and because so much venom had been injected, you were transformed into a vampire." Kaleb sighed and gracefully rose to his feet, pacing to the closed window. "If caught early enough, the venom can be neutralised, and the victim can remain human. We tried to save you, hoping that it wasn't too late, but we only managed to find you after the transformation had changed too much, and for that I apologise." The vampire turned and bowed, his hands clasped in front of his body and head lowered in supplication.

Merritt didn't know what to think, it all sounded so fantastical, but at the same time, the memories of the attack and the flashes of pain from his neck proved it to be true. His head was spinning and he held it between shaking hands, denials repeating again and again inside his frantic mind. It had to be a lie; it just _had_ to.

"As much as I wish it were a lie, I'm afraid that it's the contrary." Kaleb said flatly, answering his thoughts. "You are a vampire now. You cannot deny this fact. Please do everyone in your new race a favour and just accept it."

Merritt's head shot up, eyes wide and shocked. "Did you... Read my mind?"

"I did. We each have powers that we are born with upon becoming a vampire. Everyone has different abilities, though the one that every vampire has is a type of mind reading. Newborns are taught how to shield their minds before they are taught anything else."

Merritt closed his eyes to process the new information, so much had changed in such a short time...

"What about my family?" He asked. "What do I tell them?"

"Your family must never find out what you've become." Was the grave answer. "They must remain ignorant, as all humans do. Our society must stay hidden."

Merritt thought of his mother, knitting quietly in her room in the retirement home and waiting patiently for her precious sons to visit. He thought of his brother, the selfish bastard who'd run away with all his hard earned money after working together for almost six years. He thought of his friends, the people he had come to like from around the neighbourhood and through his work.

"I can't do things as I used to, can I?"

Kaleb shook his head. "No. You may still live as you did, if you so desire, but you must do so without divulging our secret. If you think that you can handle hiding such an important detail from your loved ones, then we will not stop you." He opened the shutters on the window, allowing sunlight to pour through and brighten the room. "However, if you would prefer to avoid lying to everyone you know, we can help you disappear, make a new identity and a new life."

Merritt sighed and bowed his head. "Can you give me time? I need to think."

Kaleb nodded. "Of course. In the mean time, you are free to roam the house as you please. It's large, but not enough that you'd get lost. You can either come find me or I'll find you when you are ready. If you happen to see someone who looks like me but with longer hair, that's my brother. He won't hurt you, and you can ask him to lead you to me. I will await your answer, Merritt McKinney." With a smile and a final nod, Kaleb glided from the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Merritt in silence once again. It was only once he was alone that Merritt realised that he had never introduced himself to the other vampire.

.

XXXXX

.

"And... Sleep." Merritt caught the woman as she sagged forward, falling under the spell of his hypnotic powers. He whispered instructions in her ear, casting a devious look at her husband as he leaned back and snapped his fingers. The woman woke with a start, blinking in confusion as she glanced between the mentalist and her husband. "If you can take this bill from me, then you can have it." Merritt said, holding a twenty dollar note just out of easy reach. She reached for the cash, eyes widening in surprise when she found that she couldn't unclasp her hands or move her legs. "If you can say your name, you can have it." He almost started laughing when she realised that she couldn't move her jaw, her teeth clamped tightly shut and leaving her unable to do more than produce inarticulate sounds. She laughed in astonishment, grinning as best she could.

"Now, you wait there while I take a peak into the mind of your hubby." Merritt grinned, moving to stand before the irate-looking man. "Now, let me see..." Merritt stared into the man's eyes, opening his mind and reaching into his victim's. He saw sand and crashing waves, tasted fruit and alcohol, felt the warmth of another person mixed with feelings of pleasure and smothered guilt. Just as he'd thought. "Beach... Cocktail... Florida?"

"Look, it was a business trip." The man was quick to defend, frowning dangerously at the vampire.

"Oh, I agree, it is a _kind_ of business... Perhaps the _oldest_ kind."

"Uh... Honey... We should go..." He tried to move towards his wife, only to stop when Merritt grabbed his arm.

"She can't move, Mac," the mentalist said, pulling the man to stand in front of him again. "Now, you're thinking of a woman's name. A, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j..." He paused when he saw the man twitched, throwing our random names starting with J until he caught one that was similar and then the name itself. "Who's Janet?" He asked, turning to look at Mac's waiting wife. "Do you know Janet? She's not your best friend, is she?" He interpreted the sounds she made, recognising the word 'sister'. "Oh my god, seriously?" Merritt's voice was appalled. "You weren't away on business, you were away on /Janet/, your wife's /sister/!"

The woman swiped her closed fists at her husband, her face twisted in anger as she tried to yell. Merritt shuffled them over a few steps getting out of range of her flailing arms.

"Now, Mac, do you want this to go away?" Merritt asked, standing with his arms crossed over his chest. Mac glanced between his wife and the mentalist, expression frantic and mildly horrified as he answered with an affirmative. "Then pull out your wallet, go on, get it out." The vampire rifled through the contents of the man's wallet, pulling out a small wad of cash and pocketing it before turning to the woman, ignoring Mac's accusations of him being a 'stickup artist'.

"Sleep." He snapped his fingers, staring at her slumped form as he spoke his orders. "When I snap my fingers, you won't remember any of this. And as for you," he turned back to Mac. "Every time you see or even _think_ of Janet, you are going to picture me naked, and that's not a pretty sight." He smacked the man's forehead, almost bursting into laughter at his disturbed expression. He turned back to the man's wife, snapping his fingers to wake her up.

All three glanced back and forth at each other, as if all were waiting for something to happen. Merritt moved first, reaching out to shake the woman's hand. "Well, we did the best we could, but some people just aren't to be hypnotised."

The woman shook his hand, looking quite confused. "Oh... I did it wrong?"

"Oh no, you did it fine." Merritt said assuringly as she was ushered away by her shaken - and two hundred and fifty dollars poorer - husband. He watched them leave with a satisfied grin, the smile quickly disappearing as he felt the stare being directed into his back. He spun around, eyes sweeping around as he tried to find the watcher, but he didn't see anyone.

It wasn't until later that he became certain that someone had been watching him, the dead giveaway being the tarot card lying innocently on his advertising board. He reached out and picked it up, flipping it over to see the address written on the back before turning it back to the picture side.

The Hermit. A figure in a blue hooded cloak, holding a lantern. He hadn't really looked too far into tarot reading, believing that they were unreliable at best, complete lies at worst, but he did remember the general meaning of this card from his brief research. Introspection, Silence, Guidance, Reflection, Solitude, Looking inward, Reclusion, Inner search, Deep understanding, Isolation, Distance, Retreat. It was exactly what he had chosen to do upon being reborn into the supernatural world; hiding, reflecting, understanding. But he couldn't see how anyone could really know that; the vampire community was completely hidden, buried so deeply into secrecy that finding your way out again once inside was nigh on impossible.

Merritt tucked the card into his pocket, finished clearing up and headed out into the rain, wondering if he had enough money saved up to get a plane ticket and rent a hotel room in New York City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so there's more lore on Vampires than there are on any other creature I've decided to use sans one (which I can't disclose right now since it hasn't been introduced yet lol), so I decided to be as picky as I could to avoid sifting through massive amounts of crap. I'm sure everyone knows what a vampire is, so I'll just move on to what I decided to use. These vampires are based off the North American Folklore vampires; basically they have a small plethora of powers including super senses and speed, the ability to transform into any night creature (wolves, bats, bilbies, whatever), and various mind powers. The whole 'burn up in the sun, holy water and crosses hurt' thing is overused, so I decided to go without that particular idea. But know that they are NOT LIKE THE TWILIGHT VAMPIRES! THEY DO NOT SPARKLE IN THE SUN FOR GOD'S SAKE!
> 
> I spent almost 3 weeks trying to find a creature that would fit Merritt, and I cycled through everything from Sirens to Dragons to Leprachauns to Elves, nothing fit. I wanted something humanoid, but with the ability to read minds. It's surprisingly hard to find creatures that fit that criteria. I was originally avoiding vampires like the plague, but then just decided 'to hell with it' and searched up some of the lore on them. Vampires are surprisingly interesting if you ignore the 'sparkles-in-the-sun' vampries and everything that came after. I'm still not 100% happy with my choice, but it's better than making him a mermaid or a tiny man in a green costume, right?
> 
> So, same as always, if you have any ideas about vampires you wish to share, by all means share. I'd be glad to have the information, even if I don't use it.
> 
> Kaleb Karis is an OC I made up for my original story, he and his twin brother, Regulus, will both appear/be mentioned in this, so you may as well know some backstory since I'm probably not going to explain properly later. Kaleb and Regulus were born (in this story) about 300 years before Merritt was turned to a wealthy, aristocratic family (English). They were seperated at birth, Kaleb staying with his mother since he was the eldest, and Regulus going to a poor farming family. Regulus grew up not knowing he had a brother, while Kaleb knew from the get go, but was told that he'd died. Anyway, Mother and Father die, but on her death bed, his mother tells him about what really happened to his brother. Kaleb goes and gets Regulus, they live together for a while before their village is attacked by an animal. They and a few others ride out to kill it, but it turns out to be a vampire. Their escort is killed and both brothers are turned. They escape into the vampire community, allowing everyone to think that they'd died. They became more powerful and eventually started their own coven in America. They eventually become the New Orleans coven and make sure that everything runs smoothly (for vampires) in that area. As for how they found Merritt, they were tracking Bradley, so they really found him by accident.
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry for that long paragraph, and thanks to anyone who actually read it. Never know when the info will come in handy, right?
> 
> So yeah, thanks for reading, please review and I'll see you in the next chapter!


	5. The Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys, now that the prologues are over, let's start on the main story, shall we? I wasn't originally gonna post today, but since it's Christmas I decided to give you guys this as a present. Hope you all enjoy it and Merry Christmas!

**Chapter 1: The Meeting**

45 Ease Evan Street was a decrepit old building, made of sandy-brown brick and black iron with more paint peeled away by weathering and delinquent kids than there was still coating the walls. Daniel had to check twice to make sure that the address was correct, comparing the location on the card to the building number and street name.

"Are you sure that this is the right place?" He asked the taxi driver, glancing down at his card then back up at the building sceptically.

"Yep." The driver nodded, slowing down as they neared the building. "This is it."

Daniel made a non-committal little noise and looked out the window, blinking as he saw a familiar head of red hair. He ordered the driver to let him off, not even waiting for the car to stop before opening the door and calling out to the girl.

"Hey!" She jerked and paused, turning on the spot to face him. "Henley!" He grinned, climbing completely put of the car and shutting the door before joining her on the sidewalk.

"Danny!" She smiled and reached out, pulling him into a one armed hug with the hand not holding her coffee cup. "It's been a while!"

"It has. What's it been, five, six years? I thought you lived in LA?" They started walking, both heading towards the old apartment block.

"I do. I got a card saying for me to come here, so here I am."

Daniel blinked and reached into his pocket, pulling out his card. "You mean, like this one?"

Henley's eyes widened and she nodded, holding her card up for her friend to see.

Danny smiled, the expression a little forced. "I'm glad for you, but could you do something for me? I'd like for you to wait outside while I scope the place out, okay? I don't want you in there until I know its safe, so I'll come get you when-"

"Danny." He stopped when she interrupted him. "I'm a big girl and I know how to run in this world now. I'm not waiting outside. Plus I think you have forgotten that I can turn into any animal that I want, including some rather vicious breeds of dog, remember?"

The incubus paled drastically and nodded, remembering a particularly vicious incident with one of the dog forms and some poor man's privates. Daniel still didn't know if the guy ever fully recovered or not.

By that point they were already climbing up the stairs, trekking up flight upon flight until they reached the sixth floor. They paused on the landing, staring at the man standing in front of apartment 6A, all three with their mouths open in shock.

"Oh." Chorused Daniel and Henley, holding up their tarot cards.

"Oh, okay." The man spoke awkwardly, stepping away from the door. "So it seems that none of us were the only ones chosen, so please allow me to be the first to kick my ego to the curb."

"Excuse me..." Daniel started, walking briskly forward.

"Door's locked." The man said, gesturing dismissively behind him.

"Is it? Let me check." The incubus brushed past the stranger, freezing momentarily at the touch of unnaturally cool skin against his hand. He shuddered and kept going, trying the doorknob, testing for traps and searching for some sort of hidden mechanism that could unlock the door.

"So your name's Henley." The man said, grinning and winking at her.

Henley nodded, glancing at Daniel as he returned.

"Yep, locked. And for the record, your name's on your coffee cup, it's how he knew what it was." Daniel said, sending a tiny smirk in the mentalist's direction. "I'm Daniel Atlas, care to tell us your name, stranger? It's hardly fair to take names and not give one in return."

"Merritt McKinney." The mentalist said, his eyes narrowed in irritation. "And for your information, that wasn't mentalism, just an observation. And the second observation is that you are incredibly beautiful, Henley." Merritt said.

"Thank you." Henley smiled.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Now, could you please refrain from doing your mentalism thing until we know who gave us these and if we know if this is even real and not an attempt to-" Daniel broke off as Merritt held a finger to his lips, making a shushing sound similar to what a mother would make to her crying child.

"I'm sensing, that you are a control freak?" Merritt smirked, staring Daniel dead in the eye.

The incubus returned the look with a deadpanned expression, sending a quick glare at the laughing Henley before turning back to the mentalist. "I know what your doing, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped."

"Oh lighten up, Danny." Henley laughed. "It's not hurting you for him to read you, you know."

"Maybe not," Daniel said. "But I don't appreciate him prying into affairs that don't concern him. Even so, I suppose I can take it as a compliment that he chose to read me over you."

"Yeah, you're the only one I know who'd take something like that as a compliment."

"Oh thank you, another compliment!"

"Okay, so I'm guessing that this is why you're no longer a couple?" Merritt interrupted, glancing between the two.

"A couple?" Daniel blinked, taken aback. "No, we were never a couple."

"He helped me when no one else could," Henley explained. "And I acted as his assistant for a while, but really he's more like a close friend than a lover, not that he wouldn't make a pretty good lover, but I don't want our relationship to become sexual if it would ruin that friendship."

Daniel decided to ignore the comment about his sexual prowess. "True. I would prefer to just stay friends than to become lovers and end up with our friendship ruined. But you were a pretty good assistant." Daniel grinned, patting her shoulder. "Very obedient."

"Oh shut up!" She smacked his arm, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "I am not, was not, and never shall be your dog, so don't talk about me as if I am one!"

"Lincoln Park." Daniel coughed into his hand, his eyes shining with mirth as he remembered a few situations where that statement could be proven false.

"Danny!"

"So basically, he doesn't treat you in the way you want him to, right?" Merritt interrupted again. "But you deserve to be treated well. You deserve to be made to feel special."

"Yeah yeah." Daniel sighed, adjusting the leather bag hanging off his shoulder. "That's wonderful. Now since this is going nowhere fast, I think I'll leave. Stay if you want, Henley, enjoy each other's company."

He turned to leave, pausing as he saw someone else come to stand on the landing.

"No way..." The newcomer sounded completely awed. "J. Daniel Atlas?"

Daniel blinked, nodding his head. "Yeah, that's me."

"Dude, I've seen everything you've ever done..." The leather-clad teen walked forward, eyes wide and delighted and for just a second, Daniel could've sworn that he saw the flicker of a tail behind the boy. "I mean, I basically idolise you. I'm a massive fan."

"It's nice to meet you." Daniel smiled, reaching out to shake his hand.

"I'm Jack, by the way." Jack seemed beyond ecstatic just to be in the same vicinity as Daniel, shaking his hand must have been a dream come true.

"Hey, did you happen to get one of these?" Merritt asked, holding up a tarot card.

"Yeah, I did." Jack rummaged in his bag, pulling out his card. "Death."

"The High Priestess." Henley held her's up, showing the face of the blindfolded woman.

Daniel sighed and held up his. "The Lover." He quickly turned to Henley, fixing her with a sharp glare. "Shut up."

Henley just held her hands up innocently. "I didn't say anything."

Merritt held up his card. "The Hermit."

"So, is there a reason we're all just standing out here in the hallway? Are we waiting for someone?" Jack tilted his head, glancing between the other three and the door.

"Door's locked." They chorused gesturing behind them at the closed door.

Jack just smiled knowingly, shaking his head the tiniest amount. "Oh no... Nothing's ever locked."

The three watched, intrigued, as the boy slid forward, dropping to his knees in front of the locked door. They watched as he fiddled with something in his jacket, pulling out a small silver tool which he slid neatly into the lock. There was some metallic clicking and suddenly the door was unlocked, the wooden barrier swinging inwards with a soft creak.

Jack stood and turned to the others, smiling broadly as he gestured to the open doorway. "After you?"

Henley smiled and walked on in, followed by Jack and Danny with Merritt bringing up the rear. They quietly made their way through the apartment, turning on their flashlights and scanning around anxiously. Henley pushed open a door, peering into what appeared to be a bathroom. It was disgusting, everything covered in so much dust and grime that the white porcelain looked brown.

"Um..." Jack's voice broke the silence, his brow furrowed as he sniffed the air. "I'd close that if I were you."

"Why?" Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm not sure how good your sense of smell is, but I can smell something growing in there, and I'm not sure how... Um... Healthy it is to have it around. Are powdery spore-like things poisonous?"

"Depends on what they come from." Henley answered, closing the bathroom door with a disturbed look on her face. "And I'm not interested in finding out what could be growing in what appears to be decade old toilet water."

Daniel made a disgusted sound, curling his lip as he pushed ahead of Henley.

"And I though my apartment was nasty..." Merritt said, his voice incredulous.

"Man, it's freezing in here!" Jack whispered, pulling his leather jacket closer around him. Henley hummed in agreement.

Daniel's flashlight shone on something in the middle of what may have once been a living-dining area, a folded card and a beautiful white rose lying in front of a strange symbol dug into the ground. He paused, causing Henley to almost crash into his back as he stared at the arrangement. The girl peered over his shoulder, trying to see.

"What's that?" She asked, pushing Daniel forward a bit to get him moving again.

"I dunno." He said, striding forward to pick up the card. He flipped it open, shining light onto the paper. Jack and Henley stood behind him, both reading over his shoulders. Merritt, who couldn't get a spot behind him, asked what it said.

"'Now you don't'." Daniel answered, glancing back at Jack, who shrugged in confusion. Henley swooped down and grabbed the rose, spinning it between her fingers.

"A rose by any other name." She said, moving over to the vase at the other end of the room and dropping the flower inside. Water began to flow out from under the vase, moving towards the symbol in the ground and into the trenches.

"Whoa..." Daniel murmured, hopping a few inches backwards.

"Cool." Jack leaned forward, watching the water fill the trench. Suddenly it dropped, white smoke billowing from the symbol. The young man jumped, back, yelping in alarm. "Is that gas?" He asked worriedly, moving around to the other side of the symbol.

"Don't worry." It was Merritt who answered, the taller man pacing around to the other end of the room. "It's just dry ice."

"What do you think this is about?" Daniel asked, glanced around, wondering if anyone had any clue what was going on.

"Hang on." Merritt lifted a hand to his head, closing his eyes in deep concentration. The other three stared at him, waiting intently for the answer. The mentalist drew in a breath, shaking his head. "Nope, I've got nothing."

"Thank you." Daniel's voice was thick with sarcasm. "Thank you for the delay."

"I was just trying to create the space for wisdom..."

"So... You're like Buddha, if he wasn't so enlightened." Daniel rolled his eyes, turning away to look at the room. He completely missed the stifled laugh from Merritt at the irony.

"And you're like Jesus if he was arrogant and all his miracles were fake." Was the comeback, and Daniel didn't even try to hide his amusement, doubling over and holding his stomach as he openly laughed at the ironic statement.

"Okay, lovebirds," Henley interrupted. "Get a room."

"Oh, I'd definitely find us a room, given half a chance. I mean, sure he's arrogant, and quite annoying, but he's hot too and personality means nothing when it comes to a quick fling. Although now that I think about it, I think I'd prefer to have Jack, he's cute and less likely to make me kill him. If the opportunity were to ever arise, I'd defiantly take it." Daniel's voice dropped to a suggestive purr, causing Merritt's eyebrows to creep to his hairline and Jack to spin around and stare openly at his idol. "It was a joke, idiots... But still..."

"Yeah yeah." Henley just rolled her eyes. "But be honest, Danny, did you have anything to do with this?"

"Me? No. Did you?" He turned to Jack, who blinked shook his head.

"I wish." He said, his voice laced with self-depreciation.

"Hey, why didn't anyone ask me?" They turned to stare at the mentalist, looking at him as if he were stupid, and he just held up his hands in surrender.

Daniel moved to the wall and flicked the light switch on, then off, then back on again. He heard more flicking behind him, guessing that one of the others was also trying the lights.

"Power's out." Jack said as he turned from the wall to the window, rubbing a finger across the dirty blinds.

"Well, let's see, shall we?" Merritt asked, reaching up to push a loose light bulb back into its socket. There was a sudden flash of bright light and four projectors buzzed to life, shining towards the centre of the room where shapes began to form in the smoky air. The four moved to stand around the moving shapes, staring transfixed at the images appearing before their eyes.

"Blueprints." Henley murmured.

"They're incredible!" Daniel breathed.

"It's a show!" Henley cried, delighted.

"Who do you think did this?" Jack asked.

"I don't know, but I really want to meet them." Henley said, her voice filled with longing. Merritt whistled in awe, eyes flicking from one moving image to another. They all just stared at the blueprints, watching the shapes change and shift until the hologram died away, leaving them in the dappled darkness once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have any after-notes today, please leave a kudo or a comment!


	6. Getting to Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. I am so sorry for the long absence. I don't really have a good excuse except that I was in my first year of university and have been focusing on my studies. I've finally gotten this chapter completed and correctly edited, so I decided to post it now. Please note that this chapter is pretty much a filler chapter and is basically explaining a little in terms of powers, backstories and some bonding occurs between the Horsemen.
> 
> But enough from me, please enjoy!

**Chapter 2: Getting to Know You**

Daniel had known what Merritt was from the moment he first laid eyes on him - the faintly luminescent irises and tangy, blood-stained scent gave the vampire away from the get go - and a quick glance at Henley showed that she knew as well, the púca's eyes eager and knowing. They'd been about to reveal themselves, knowing instinctively that he had no idea what they were, when Jack had come up the stairs. Jack was a cause of confusion for Daniel, his scent unlike any creature the incubus had met before, foreign and exotic but also saturated with the strong scent of the local humans; he couldn't tell if Jack was a creature or a human in close contact with a creature.

He had pulled Henley aside the second that the blueprints had faded, leading the way out of the apartment and down the hall before turning to her.

"What is he?" Daniel asked abruptly, his confusion and irritation clear in his tone. "Merritt I know - vamps aren't all that unusual nowadays - but Jack? I don't recognise his scent at all."

"Neither do I." Henley agreed, glancing back at the apartment behind her. "He smells like a creature, definitely, but there's so much human mixed in that I can't place it."

"Definately a foreign creature." the incubus stated. "He doesn't smell like any of the European creatures I've met, but that doesn't rule out very many. The Pacific and Asian areas have hundreds of creatures and I've barely met any of them. He could be pretty much anything."

"Think we should ask him?"

"But are we certain that he's not human?"

"Well…"

"Then we can't risk it."

"But he'll be working with us from now on." Henley argued. "He'll find out, one way or the other. Better to tell now and have him accept it than to hide it and scare him later."

"I suppose…" He didn't like it, not even vaguely, but Daniel could see the wisdom in the suggestion.

"Then it's settled. We confront them both tonight."

"Both?"

"Merritt doesn't know what we are, I'm certain. He must be a newborn for him to not recognise what you are at least."

"Gee, thanks." Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. We speak to them tonight."

"Alright."

.

XXXXX

.

"Okay, so..." Henley glanced at each of the guys in turn, hazel eyes serious. The four were sitting in the hotel room that the púca had booked for herself, sprawled out on the bed, chair and on the floor in Jack's case. "Our instructions are that we need to get to know and trust each other before this whole thing even starts, so let's begin with the elephant in the room, shall we?" Jack and Merritt stared at her in confusion, not picking up on the dubbed 'elephant in the room'. Daniel, on the other hand, just nodded in agreement. "So, we know that you're not human."

The reaction to that was almost as expected - Merritt went very still, eyes locked on the fae and the demon as he tried to categorise them into 'friend' or 'foe'. Jack, on the other hand, sucked in a breath so fast that he choked, coughing a little into his fist as he tried to get himself under control. That at least confirmed that their suspicions weren't unfounded, not a single soul in the room was human.

Jack moved slowly out of his lounging sprawl after he'd recovered, manoeuvring himself until he was balanced on his hands and the balls of his feet, poised to run at a moments notice. Merritt was doing the same, slowly shifting himself to the edge of the chair, fully prepared to just ditch the room and his things if need be.

"Oh relax." Henley rolled her eyes. "We're not going to come after you with flaming brands and pitchforks or anything. It'd not only be hypocritical, it'd be pretty stupid thing to do if one wants to keep their people safe."

"P-people?" Jack asked, still wary.

"How, exactly, would it be hypocritical?" Merritt asked stiffly.

"Well, for one, we're not human either, so it's not like we'd kill you out of fear or anything. Plus I'm pretty sure both of us are older than the two of you, so we'd technically be stronger in terms of powers too." Daniel shrugged, reclining lazily on the bed.

"And to answer your question, Jack, I'm a púca, one of the Irish fae. The púca are sort of like seasonal sprites." Henley tried to explain. "We claim the over-ripe blackberries and the unharvested wheat in the fall and can shapeshift into any living creature we know of, both alive and extinct. The fae don't kill, not ever. We play tricks, sure, but never anything dangerous enough to permanently harm or kill."

"I've never heard of púca before." Merritt said, relaxing back into his chair. "And my leader told me about most kinds of creature that have been around for the last couple of millennia or so."

"Well, the púca, along with the rest of the Irish fae passed through the mounds into the Otherworld around three thousand years ago to escape the 'iron-wielding mortals'. I'm not surprised that we've become myth even among the creature factions. I only came back nine years ago, in '03."

"You said that neither of you are human." Merritt turned to Daniel. "So what are you?"

Daniel grinned and slid off the bed, standing up straight as he dropped the illusion hiding his true form. His scrolling horns protruded at an angle out of his head from just above his ears, curving back and up as they tapered into sharp points. Great black bat wings spread from his shoulders and folded neatly against his spine while a long black tail curled down behind him, the end tipped with a dragon-like spade. His clothes had also completely changed, the outfit from before having just been a layer of the illusion weaved around his form. He was shirtless, with tight leather pants and knee-high boots clinging to his legs under a black, sleeveless and calf-length vest. There were silver cuffs around both wrists and a long necklace with a coiled dragon pendant around his neck to complete the ensemble.

"I'm an incubus." Daniel purred and leveled a smouldering stare at the two, spinning in a slow circle to put himself on display before sitting back down. "A demon, according to the humans, and we don't really bother to correct them."

Jack stared, speechless and glowing with a bright red blush. Merritt only just managed to shake off the need to gape. "So, are the myths true?" He managed to get out, tearing his eyes away. Daniel just smiled knowingly and winked one ruby eye.

"So now that know you know what we are," Daniel's expression suddenly became serious. "Why don't you tell us what you are, Jack? I already know what Merritt is, but I don't recognise you. I know the scents of most creatures, but yours is different... Human, but not."

Everyone was silent for several minutes, all eyes turned to Jack. He sighed and reached under his shirt, pulling out a pretty gold necklace with a leaf-shaped pendant, carefully lifting it over his head and dropping it to the floor. His body shifted and changed, eventually settling on the form of a black fox, roughly the size of a large dog, with two white-tipped tails swishing back and forth as he settled comfortably on his haunches.

"I'm a nogitsune." It wasn't so much talking as his voice being projected through the fox's mouth, like a record playing through a speaker. "We're also called yako."

"And that is..." Merritt prompted.

"A Japanese fox spirit, a yokai. We're basically the same as the kitsune, but where kitsune are benevolent, we are more mischievous and prone to causing trouble. Plus we grow new tails more often than the kitsune, one every fifty years for us while it's every hundred years for them. I'm actually considered a hanyou or a half-demon since I have a human father, which is why you said I smell so much like a human. I'm technically weaker than pure blooded fox spirits, though I still have all the same powers as a full yako so it doesn't matter that much." Jack shrugged as best he could in his fox body, picking his necklace up in his teeth and hopping onto the bed by Daniel's knee.

"I've heard tales of kitsune being able to summon fire and have powers of possession. They're common myths in Japan, and I've never had the opportunity to verify them until now." Daniel said, running a gentle hand down Jack's furry back, causing the fox's chest to rumble with a pleasured purr. "How many of the myths are true?"

"Well," Jack's voice was soft and dreamy, distracted by the hand carding through his fur. "We can summon fire and lightning - it's called kitsune-bi - plus we can enter people's dreams, fly short distances, turn invisible, and we can possess people, which the humans call kitsunetsuki. Some of the older kitsune and yako can create powerful illusions, drive people mad, manipulate space and time and transform into impossible things, like another moon in the sky or a massively tall tree. I'm still young, so I don't have powers beyond manipulating my element, kitsune-bi, kitsunetsuki, dream walking and short periods of flight and invisibility, though I do have some talent in manipulating space, but only enough to change small things and make small pocket dimensions."

"Can you show us?" Henley asked, clapping her hands together in excitement. Jack nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. He started to fade, slowly turning invisible until he'd completely disappeared.

"Okay, that's cool." Merritt whistled as Jack reappeared, the fox's head dipping low in embarrassed delight.

"Merritt, Daniel and Henley seem to know what you are, but I don't recognise your scent." The fox's head tilted curiously. "What are you?"

Merritt staring for several moments before opening his mouth, displaying two sets of sharp, elongated fangs, one set on his top jaw and one on the bottom. "I'm a vampire, part of the Skywolf Coven lead by the Karis twins and based in New Orleans. I was turned just under eight years ago by a rogue who's been state-hopping for the last couple of decades. And before you ask, yes I do drink blood, no not all that often, and yes I can turn into _a_ bat, along with any other nocturnal animal. Oh and just so we're clear, vampires _don't_ burst into flames and die if out in the sunlight, so please don't assume that I do. It's the stupidest myth the humans have ever thought up about us... Well, aside from the 'sparkles in the sun' bullshit. That one starts arguments... big arguments."

Daniel pressed the heel of his hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter, the blunt statement giving rise to the mental image of Merritt sparkling in the sun like some sort of demented mirror ball. He showed more tact than Jack who burst out laughing without bothering to try to hide it. Henley just shook her head in disgust; she'd boycotted that series to the point where she hadn't even conceded to watching a trailer for the movies.

"Aside from the obvious," Merritt continued, mostly for Jack's sake, since he knew the least out of them all. "Each vampire also has a small plethora of powers; we can all read minds, but not many have the ability to control them like I can. I also have telekinesis and several other smaller mind-based powers."

"So, basically you're a psychic vampire?" Henley asked, intrigued. She didn't know that much about a vampire's powers, so any information was interesting to her. "Are all vampire abilities like yours or are there physical ones too?"

"There are physical and elemental powers too. Psychic abilities are rather common, while advanced shapeshifting and the various kinesis abilities are less so. It's rarer to have more than one ability. My coven leader can manipulate fire as well as transform into a pretty massive wolf, as can his brother though Regulus controls water instead of fire. It's not the same as lycanthropy, since werewolves are forcefully changed on the full moon while vampiric 'shifters aren't, and for some reason normal vampires like me can't transform into wolves like we can bats and possoms."

"Are these the Karis twins you mentioned earlier?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. The elder, Kaleb, is the leader and the oldest in the coven. He saved me after I was attacked by the rogue, kept me alive and tried to cure me of my impending vampirism, but found me too late to stop the transformation. And so, here I am as a supernatural creature."

There were several moments of silence before Henley broke it, clearing her throat and shifting on the bed.

"Now that we know what we all are," Henley started. "How about we play a game to get to know each other properly?" The guys shrugged, watching as Henley reached into her bag and pulled out a small red box. "This was with our instructions. It's called 'Table Topics'. It's supposed to be a good icebreaker game."

"How do you play?" Jack asked, stepping delicately over the sheets and Danny's legs to peer down at the cube, tapping the closed box with his paw curiously.

"You pull out a card and answer what's written on it, that's really all there is to it." Henley said, pulling out the cards to shuffle them before putting them back into the cube. "So, who wants to go first?"

"I'll go." Daniel reached out and pulled out a card, reading the printed question. "Okay... It's asking 'where is your favourite place in the world?' I'd have to say Thailand or Malaysia. It's warm, the food's good, the people are polite and stuff is cheap."

"I've never been to Thailand or Malaysia before." Jack said, tilting his head as a thought came to mind. "Actually, come to think about it, I've never left the state before."

"Never?" Henley looked at Jack, shocked. "You've never left New York?"

"No. My father lived here, so did Mother until... Yeah. Anyway, I never had enough money to get away, and it's not like I knew where to go either. I don't know anything about navigating foreign countries." Jack shook his head, dislodging the depressive thoughts. "But enough about that, I'll go next." He slipped on his necklace and transformed back to human form, pulling out a card and reading it aloud. "'You see a snake cross the road in front of you. How would you react?' Um... What? Why would a snake be crossing the road?"

"The same reason the chicken crossed the road." Merritt deadpanned.

"But anyway, I guess I'd keep my distance, I'd prefer a flattened or dead snake to getting bitten."

"Understandable." Henley nodded and reached into the cube. "'What is the key to happiness?' Um... I don't know... Having your family and loved ones around you? I never really thought about it."

"Not many do." Daniel nodded. "Personally, I'd go with being safe and comfortable and satisfied with my life. Incubi don't build families, so we're a little more materialistic in what we consider happiness."

"Each to their own. It's my turn." Merritt reached into the box. "'Hard work and success is like a chicken and egg story. Which came first?' This question is stupid. Who made this game?"

"I have no idea, but I really hope there aren't too many questions like that." Jack muttered, giving the box an unimpressed stare.

"Hard work obviously comes first. You need to work to become successful. It doesn't just fall into your lap, and if it does, then it's probably a trick."

"I concur. I've seen too many of those not to think that." Daniel agreed, reaching into the box for his next card. "'Do you remember your worst hangover?' No, I can't actually get drunk, so hangovers kind of don't happen to me."

"Lucky!" Merritt groaned, rubbing his temples. "Just thinking of hangovers gives me a headache."

"I have been quite thankful for my inability to get drunk multiple times in the past." Daniel mused darkly. "It's always better to stay completely sober when running from the crazy demon-hunting humans, especially when they know your face, your name and where you were living at the time."

"You... Were chased by demon hunters?" Jack's voice was quiet, but full of curiosity. "When was this? And how did you escape them?"

"This was almost four hundred years ago, in Italy. I was being hounded by the Inquisition because someone had somehow seen my true form. I got caught once and was tortured for information and their personal amusement before I managed to escape and flee the country. I have never been so grateful to have wings before." Daniel stretched one wing out, curling it around to stroke the warm, leathery membrane. "They and my ability to weave illusions helped me get out of Italy and into Switzerland without being recaptured. Granted, there were a few close calls, but thankfully I escaped without sustaining further injuries."

"Is that's why you didn't want me reading you?" Merritt asked quietly. "You didn't want anyone to see your memories of the torture?"

"That, and because I don't want to inadvertently relive them while you were watching." Daniel shrugged. "At least they didn't try to burn me at the stake or something, that would have left some seriously scarring memories. Though in hindsight, they probably would have staked me if I'd given in to the torture and dropped the illusion."

"How can you talk about this so easily?" Jack asked, resting a hand on Daniel's leather-clad knee. "Wouldn't it be painful to remember?"

"It was, once." The incubus said with a shrug, his tail flicking around to soothingly trail across the back of Jack's hand. "But four hundred years is a long time, more than enough to get used to the knowledge of what happened. I'm okay with it now, I just don't want to relive it again."

Jack nodded his understanding. "How about we move on with the game?" At the answering nods, Jack reached into the cube and pulled out his next card. "'What is your favourite season and why?' Well, I like summer. I can go out and nap in the park since it's warm and there are plenty of tourists that I can pickpocket. Plus I hate the cold. Winter is hard on the streets."

"You were on the streets?"

"Yeah, I've been on the streets for... I don't know how long exactly... It's a little hard to find a place to stay when you are literally living off money you stole from random people. Pick-pocketing isn't exactly the most successful of careers, not when so many people don't even carry paper money anymore. Seven out of ten wallets haven't got more in then than maybe three or four dollars, and no one wants to hire a homeless, penniless 'bum'."

"You aren't a bum." Henley said firmly, pulling Jack into a gentle hug. "You just had a hard life."

Jack laughed mirthlessly, burying his nose into the púca's shoulder. "You have no idea."

"Okay, this is getting a little too sentimental for me." Merritt said, ruining the serious atmosphere. "Your go Henley."

Henley let Jack go and reached into the cube for her next card. "'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Okay, what about it?"

"... Does it say anything else?" Daniel lifted an eyebrow, peering at the card over Henley's shoulder. "Apparently not."

"Maybe say what you think about it. Have you read it, watched it?" Merritt suggested, convinced that the maker of the game was an idiot.

"I've never read it..." Henley said, putting the card down. "Nor have I watch the movie. Literally all that I know about it is that there's a guy named Puck and I think he turns someone into a donkey or something. But that's it. Oh, and there are fairies, I think."

"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania!" Daniel said dramatically, flipping his hair as if he were annoyed at someone. Merritt snorted at him, shaking his head, Henley stared impassively and Jack just looked confused.

"What's a midsummer night's dream?" Jack asked, completely lost.

"It's a play by Shakespeare," Merritt explained. "It was turned into a movie some years back."

"It's a classic." Daniel explained. "One of Shakespeare's romantic comedies, though I prefer Twelfth Night to A Midsummer Night's Dream. The movie for Twelfth Night was a lot better than that of Midsummer too."

"We had to study the books while I was in school." Merritt added. "Some of the Shakespearean plays are downright disturbing. Macbeth completely freaked me out and I hear the movie wasn't much better. Romeo and Juliet was just annoying beyond logical explanation and I couldn't quite stop myself from criticising everything that Romeo and Juliet did."

"I hear you." Daniel rolled his eyes. "If they had just thought to _communicate_ a little then they probably wouldn't have died. But _oh no_ , forget communication, I'll just take a roofie from a priest to commit fake suicide without telling my partner and hope it works out!" The incubus snorted derisively. "Morons."

"The priest and the nurse weren't much better."

Daniel chuckled, grinning over at the vampire. "It's nice to know that there's someone here who's read the classics enough to talk about them, even if they weren't read by choice. I tried to get Henley to read them but she never did."

"What? They were boring and I couldn't understand the language that well. It's different from what I was used to and the Fae didn't really have much need for writing. We passed on all important knowledge through stories and songs, not textbooks and essays like they do now."

"Well, the language is hard." Merritt agreed, pulling a card from the box. "But I suppose it's just a matter of getting used to it. 'Is honesty the best policy?' Okay, let's recap, shall we? I'm a mentalist, I work in the entertainment business, I'm a _vampire_ hiding in plain sight. Obviously honesty isn't always the safest thing for us. Plus the whole point of a magician's job is to deceive the audience."

"But sometimes it is better to tell the truth." Jack countered. "Telling lies here won't allow us start trusting each other faster, if at all. With trust comes honesty and understanding, you can't have one without the others."

"That's quite philosophical, Jack." Danny teased, ruffling the yako's hair. "Very mature."

"Oh shut up." Jack grumbled, trying and failing to fix his hair.

"But anyway, shall we move on?" Daniel took his next card, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "'The chicken is involved, the pig is committed. When it comes to life, what are you, the chicken or the pig?' I'm not sure that I understand this one. Was the pig committed to an asylum because of the chicken?"

"Maybe the chicken and the pig were both involved in something but the pig was blamed?" Henley suggested.

"It could be asking whether you're the type to cause trouble or if you're the one blamed for what others do." Merritt guessed. "Though that's not the greatest way of asking the question that I've ever heard, but I guess it's worth a shot."

There was a chorus of _huh_ s and Daniel nodded his understanding. "In that case, I'd be the chicken."

Henley snorted and poked one of his wings. "Yeah, a plucked chicken."

"I prefer demonic chicken, if you don't mind."

"This is the weirdest argument I've ever heard." Jack giggled, glancing bemusedly between the grinning púca and the lounging, deadpanned incubus.

"Get used to it."

"... How common are these again?"

"Don't ask. Just take your turn please."

"Fine..." Jack took his card. "'Tell us something that no one else knows about you.'" He went strangely silent, eyes glazing a bit as he turned his attention inward. "I haven't got much that I can tell. Much of my life... Well, probably over 20 years of my life were spent on the streets. For the years before that I was with my... Mother."

Merritt 's eyebrows lifted. "Touchy subject, is it? What happened to her?"

"She died. It's nothing that you need to concern yourselves over." Was the stiff reply, but that just made Merritt all the more suspicious.

"Really now? But something happened before she died, didn't it? What was it? Divorce, abandonment, drugs, alcohol, murde-" he froze when he saw the minute flinch pass through Jack's thin frame. "Your joking. Who did it?"

"I did." They all stared at him in shock, trying to connect the happy, awe-struck fox with a bloodthirsty killer and came up blank. "I had no choice, okay?! It was her - the crazed yako who had killed my father in cold blood and beat me for thinking that it was wrong to do so - or an innocent who hadn't done anything at all, not to provoke her, not to hurt anyone, nothing. I wasn't going to let her get away with it again."

"She killed your father?" Henley asked quietly, reaching out for the distraught young yako but pulled back before she touched him. "Why?"

"Because he was teaching me that life is sacred and that one should always try to do as much good as they can in the time they have on this earth." Jack sneered in disgust, his fox ears and tails manifesting as he lost control of his emotions. The ears lay flat against his head and tails bristled with suppressed fury as he spoke, voice shaking the tiniest bit. "Mother disagreed. She was an outlaw, banished from the homeland because she enjoyed bloodshed a little too much. She tried to raise me to be the same, Dad thankfully got to me first."

Henley reached out again, but this time she didn't pull back until she had a hand wrapped firmly around Jack's upper arm. She pulled him into a hug, stroking his hair soothingly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It happened a long time ago." The Nogitsune shrugged awkwardly. "And you guys didn't know."

"Even so..." Daniel's voice rumbled from just behind him, warm breath tickling the hair behind his ear as the incubus joined the hug. "We apologise for bringing up painful memories."

"It really should be me apologising." Merritt protested, shifting from the chair to the bed and pressing a hand to Jack's back, not quite joining the embrace but sitting close enough that he was almost a part of it. "I didn't realise it would be something like that. I honestly thought it would be alcohol or something, not this."

"Like I said, it's okay. We've all got dark memories, this is just one of mine." Jack closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into the comforting touches, basking in the warmth of the bodies around him. "It's only fair, we heard one of Daniel's earlier."

"Hush now." Henley shushed, stroking his hair affectionately. They sat like that for what felt like hours, wrapped in each other's arms and the soft leather of Daniel's wings, staying close to each other until Merritt pulled back, prompting Daniel and then Henley to do the same. They untangled themselves and resettled in their chosen seats.

"Do you want to continue or stop here?" Henley asked, gesturing to the box of question cards.

"Let's stop." Daniel sighed. "It's late, I'm tired and the thought of sleep sounds very tempting right now."

"I need to get going too," Jack nodded in agreement. "I still need to find a hidey-hole to stay in until I can go back to where I usually bunk."

"I think we'd all prefer it if you didn't stay on the streets." Henley said sternly. "In fact, you can sleep in my hotel room, assuming that you don't mind staying in fox form."

Jack shook his head. "I don't mind, but are you sure you don't mind me staying with you? I don't want to be a bother."

"I insist." The púca said with an air of finality. Jack didn't even try to argue.

"Well." Daniel broke the awkward silence when he stood and moved for the door, fading back into his human form as he did so. "I'm gonna go now. I assume we'll meet at the apartment tomorrow?"

"Yep." The other three nodded. "Let's meet there at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning." Merritt suggested. "That way we can all get some proper sleep and good food into us."

"Okay then." Daniel tossed a wave over his shoulder and opened the door. "See you there."


End file.
